Florida's Minimum Wage Going Up Again in January

Thanks to an amendment to Florida’s Constitution that was approved by voters last November, Florida now has a state minimum hourly wage that must be paid to all workers who were previously entitled to receive the federal minimum wage.  Florida’s current minimum wage, which went into effect on May 2, 2005, is $6.15 an hour.

However, the constitutional amendment requires that a new minimum wage be established every year in September, increasing the minimum wage to account for inflation.  The new minimum wage will become effective the following January each year.

The new minimum wage for 2006 will be $6.40 per hour, which is increase of 25 cents per hour over the current minimum wage.  Effective January 1, 2006, employers must pay at least $6.40 per hour to all qualifying employees.

For tipped employees (i.e., restaurant servers), employers may count tips received as part of the hourly wage, but tipped employees must be paid a direct wage in an amount equal to the minimum wage of $6.40 minus $3.02 (called the “tip credit”).  The bottom line is that tipped employees must be paid a direct hourly wage of at least $3.38 starting January 1, 2006.

Employees who are not paid the correct minimum wage amount may bring a civil action in court against their employer for violating Florida’s minimum wage law.  The state Attorney General may also bring an enforcement action against an employer to enforce the minimum wage.

Please note:  no new poster is required for the increased minimum wage.

Published: 10/04/2005

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